


A Terrifying Tale

by nightflower_panda



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Bromance, Fluff, M/M, Shippy Gen, Spooky, Stereotypical horror so not actually scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26693932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightflower_panda/pseuds/nightflower_panda
Summary: They haven't slept properly in what feels like days and haven't eaten a full meal in even longer. They’re tired and hungry, and it’s difficult to keep going - but they don't have a choice.Stay in the shadows, don't tarry in any one place too long.If they do, they might get caught.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	A Terrifying Tale

_They haven't slept properly in what feels like days and haven't eaten a full meal in even longer. They’re tired and hungry, and it’s difficult to keep going - but they don't have a choice._

_Stay in the shadows, don't tarry in any one place too long._

_If they do, they might get caught._

_Stumbling through the forest in search of the promised shelter, the Crown Prince and his three companions struggle to see through the darkness - completely blind if not for the shards of moonlight barely scraping through the heavy foliage._

_"Hey! I think I can see something!" the youngest of the group calls out, straining his eyes at a distant yellow glow. It disappears suddenly, then blinks and appears again, warm and inviting._

_"Do you think it's a light? From a window, maybe?"_

_"The house!"_

_"Finally, a place to rest and--"_

_"Wait," the Prince's advisor cuts in. "It's… moving?"_

_The yellow glow blinks, then is joined by another beside it: two small dots in the distance. They seem to burn brighter, but then the group realise they aren't - they're just rushing closer at a remarkable speed._

_"Windows, my ass!" the Prince's Shield yells, diving to the side just as the lights almost engulf the four of them. "Those are fucking eyes!"_

_The creature screeches as it misses the largest man, teeth glinting white in the moonlight._

_"What the hell is it?!"_

_"Not a beast I've ever seen before!"_

_"Less talking, more killing!"_

_The creature rounds on them in a blur - what seems like matted fur brushing against an arm as one of them dodges, flecks of saliva spattering onto another's cheek as he grunts to evade its snarling jaws. Gunshots are fired, but none of them hit their mark - whatever it is, the beast is too quick and the night is too dark._

_"Just stay still already!!"_

_Two of them somehow catch it in a pincer attack - one thrusting a polearm in its face, forcing the creature to baulk in its tracks, and the other swinging a heavy broadsword down with all his might upon its rear._

_There's a bloodcurdling scream as a part of the beast thumps, detached, to the ground - then just as suddenly as it attacked, the creature is gone, leaving the four young men panting and shaken._

_"What.. the hell…" the gun-wielding blonde's voice quivers as the group's advisor tentatively steps forward to pick up the prize left behind._

_"Its tail?" questions the Prince._

_"...Meat," the Shield growls._

_"Ingredients for a stew."_

_The one holding the tail adjusts his glasses as he holds the appendage higher in his other hand._

_"Is it safe to eat?"_

_"Better than starving, isn't it?"_

_"Let's hurry and find that cabin, then," the Prince huffs impatiently._

_The group hasten on and eventually reach their goal: a run-down wooden house in the middle of a small clearing. The door is unlocked, and thankfully, there's oil left in the lamps._

_The advisor-cum-chef quickly locates the kitchen and sets to work making their long-awaited meal. It's not long before the cabin is filled with the comforting scent of freshly cooked meat, soon added to the vegetables and spices pilfered from the cupboards._

_The group eat and finally allow themselves to relax._

_Just as the last of them finishes the last of his soup, there's a loud bang from outside the front door._

_It makes them all jump._

_There's another bang - louder this time - then the window panes rattle and the oil lamps dotted around the room go out all at once._

_Then they hear the voice, deep and rumbling and sounding like it doesn't belong in this world:_

_" **GIVE IT BACK**."_

_The four are up immediately, weapons already drawn in the darkness._

_"What the hell was that?!"_

_"Don't panic."_

_"I'm not panicking! I'm just asking a question!"_

_The door bangs again - louder this time - and they see it shake on its hinges._

_" **GIVE IT BACK!** " _

_The Shield moves to the front, gesturing for the others to get behind him. He's not afraid._

_"It's not a daemon, is it?" the youngest of their group stammers. "Daemons can't talk, can they!"_

_"Let's just open the door and find out."_

_"Whatever it is, we can take it," the Prince nods._

_The Shield readies himself in the doorway as the advisor grips the handle._

_There's another bang - the loudest one yet - then the advisor tears open the door while the other rushes forwards with his sword in one perfectly timed motion._

_There's nothing there._

_The four men stumble in their tracks, straining their eyes in the darkness for any signs of movement._

_There's a kind of scraping noise from round the back of the log cabin._

_"Stay here," the Shield orders. "I'm gonna go check it out."_

_"But--!"_

_"Look after the Prince. I'll be back soon."_

_"I don't need looking after!"_

_"Just stay in the damn room!"_

_Then he's gone, the door swinging on its hinges behind him._

_The other three hold their breaths. They can't hear anything aside from the wind in the trees._

_A whole two minutes pass in silence, and then they start getting worried._

_"What happened??"_

_The group's sharpshooter gingerly steps towards the open doorway. Thick grey clouds cover the moon, making it difficult to see._

_"Hello?!"_

_He raises his gun, ready to fire should anything jump out._

_Two large yellow orbs appear in the doorframe, glowing almost blindingly bright._

_The blonde screams and kicks the door shut in fright; the room is plunged into darkness again._

_"What the hell was that?!!"_

_" **MY TAIL!** " _

_"Where's the big guy gone??!"_

_" **GIVE IT BACK!!** " _

_The wood creaks as the creature outside slams against it, screeching._

_" **GIVE ME BACK MY TAIL!!** "_

_The advisor remembers the stairs behind them, clutching his polearm tighter._

_"Stay here, you two," he makes his way across the room. "I recall seeing a window directly above the door; I'll surprise it with an attack from above."_

_"Surprise it?! What the hell IS it??!"_

_"It doesn't matter, just get ready!"_

_Just as the advisor disappears upstairs, the banging outside the door suddenly stops. The two left behind think they see a shadow brush against the window, and they step backwards into the centre of the room, back to back and nearly touching, steadying their weapons in the darkness. They can hear their heartbeats thumping and their own ragged breathing loud in their ears, almost drowning out any other sounds._

_Then the glass of one of the windows above them smashes and a blood chilling scream echoes throughout the night._

_"Upstairs! Now!!"_

_The two stumble up the wooden stairs as fast as they're able, bumping against the wall and the banister in their haste._

_They see the shattered glass on the landing, but there's no sign of their friend._

_"Where's--"_

_The Prince clamps his hand over the other's mouth, stopping him from speaking._

_"Shh. There's something in that room."_

_What looks to be the bedroom door is ajar - a shard of yellow light eerily glowing and spilling out into the dark corridor - and the Prince slowly places both hands back on his sword's handle._

_"Get ready as back up," he commands, bending his knees and creeping closer to the light. "I'll bust in first."_

_"But what IS it?" the other gulps, pulling his gun close to his chest, finger ready on the trigger._

_"A giant… coeurl?"_

_"Coeurls don't move that fast! Or TALK!!"_

_"I said a giant one! Maybe it mutated!"_

_"I don't--"_

_"Just shut up and focus!"_

_They're right in front of the room now, weapons up and ready._

_The Prince kicks down the door and charges in._

_The yellow light goes out._

_There's a scuffle, the sound of a blade slicing through the air, a creature screeching and floorboards creaking. A sudden gust of wind blasts out through the open doorway, sending the blonde flying backwards against the wall. He chokes from the impact, struggling to catch his breath as he clutches his gun tighter and strains his eyes in the darkness._

_"Hey!!"_

_It's gone quiet again._

_"Buddy?!"_

_He gulps, fighting against all his natural instincts but having no choice otherwise - he forces himself to go inside the now pitch black room._

_"...Are you still there???"_

_" **GIVE IT BACK!!!** " _

_The creature appears out of nowhere, pinning him to the floor under its large claws._

_" **GIVE ME BACK MY TAIL!!!** " _

_The blonde tries to fight but can't get up, the weight of the beast too much._

_"I don't have it!" he cries. "I don't have your tail!!"_

_" **I CAN SMELL IT,** " the creature snarls, dropping its face closer, its breath rancid against the young man's cheek._

_" **YOU HAVE IT AND I WANT IT BACK.** "_

_The creature bares its fangs, so all the man can see is teeth and jaws and the gaping black chasm before him._

_He screams._

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Prompto jumps up from beside the campfire, grabbing at his stomach and knocking his chair over in fright. "He fucking ate it! They ATE it!!" 

Gladio laughs, pleased at Prompto's flustered reaction. 

"That's right, Chocobo. And that creature wants it back."

"Nooooo!" Prompto whines, crumpling to the floor. "Dude, that's gross. That's… That's…. How the hell do you come up with this stuff?! I'm totally gonna have nightmares now!" 

"Come on!" Gladio grins, striding over and hauling Prompto up by one arm. "It's just a story!"

"Yeah! A fucking scary one! Why'd you have to make them all disappear one by one like that! And you should've just said, 'Then the creature ate him,' but you didn't! You left it open and now my imagination's going crazy!" 

"That's the art of a good story," Gladio shrugs, picking up the fallen chair with his other hand and depositing Prompto back on top. "Anyway, look. Noct isn't scared - are ya?" 

Noctis huffs and looks to the side, entirely nonchalant.

"I'm not gonna get scared by something like that."

He folds his arms and leans back.

"Even if you tried making it sound like the characters in the story were just like us."

Gladio grins just as Ignis joins them, a steaming bowl of food in each hand.

"Ready for dinner?" 

"Yeah, I'm starving!" Gladio pats at his stomach theatrically. "What'd ya make?" 

Ignis glances across at Prompto, the younger blonde's face looking a little pale in the firelight.

"Something to warm you up, hopefully…"

He pauses. 

"Coeurl-tail stew."

Prompto's eyes widen and he covers his mouth with one palm. 

"...I'm gonna be sick."

He scrambles up from his chair and to the edge of the haven - one hand still over his mouth and the other clutching at his stomach. Ignis thrusts the two bowls into Gladio's hands and hurries after him.

"No-- It was a joke! Prompto!" 

Gladio throws his head back in laughter, far too amused at the situation. 

"Here, Noct," Gladio chuckles, settling himself in the camp chair beside the Prince and handing him a bowl. "Eat up while it's hot."

"Y- yeah," Noctis takes the stew. 

He avoids making eye contact and Gladio can't help but notice the younger man's clenched jaw.

"...You okay?" 

"Yeah!" Noctis breathes, still eyeing up the stew kind of suspiciously. "Why wouldn't I be!" 

Gladio presses his lips together to stop himself from smiling. 

"...If you're scared, you can just say so."

"I'm not scared!" 

"I can hold your hand if you want."

"Shut up!" 

Gladio scoots his chair a little closer, teasing. 

"Want me to feed you?" 

"I can feed myself," Noctis retorts, stuffing a spoon into his mouth - too busy being stubborn to notice the carrot hidden beneath the stew's surface. He swallows it down while staring Gladio in the face, determined not to show any weakness. 

"Suit yourself," Gladio smirks, turning his attention to his own dinner.

Ignis and Prompto return, the former with his arm over the other's shoulders, and murmuring soothing apologies in his ear.

Noctis looks across and thinks it's nice.

Then he glances at Gladio, wolfing down his stew without a care in the world, and mentally berates himself for daring to think he could pull the same act with his Shield. 

They finish eating and decide to retire early for the night.

Prompto is still glued to Ignis' side and they fall asleep like that, cuddled together on one side of the tent.

Gladio stretches out on the other side, leaving the space in the centre empty for the Prince. 

Noctis frowns, lightly chewing the inside of his cheek.

"...Hey."

He crawls over to where Gladio is beginning to doze, his large back facing the inside of the tent, and pokes him in the ribs.

Gladio cracks open one eye and rolls over. 

"What's the matter?" 

Noctis bites his lip and jerks his head over towards the other two, curled up peacefully beneath a shared blanket.

"...Sleep with me."

Noctis is glad it's dark in the tent because he's not sure if he's blushing and he'd rather not have Gladio notice.

Gladio closes his eyes again and Noctis tries not to sigh in disappointment, but then he feels himself get grabbed around the waist and pulled into a hug onto the ground beside the older man. 

"I told ya, if you're scared, you can just say so," Gladio mumbles, wrapping his arms around a little tighter. 

Noctis smiles and allows himself to relax, nuzzling himself slightly closer.

"...I'm not scared."

And it's true, he isn't.

Gladio just hums, already drowsy, but not too far gone to miss the subtle admission. 

He presses a soft kiss to the top of Noctis' head, and soon they're both asleep, too.

**Author's Note:**

> 1) Thank you to Elloh and Tiss for humouring me with your headcanons and listening to the idea behind this. 😆
> 
> 2) Plus more thanks to Tiss for the beta! 
> 
> 3) I discovered [Hanae Natsuki's YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3C3YOGFjn7Pq3lOCeUFHfg)  
> (yes, the seiyuu 🙈) recently and have been into his horror gameplay vids... Got me thinking about our FFXV boys telling horror stories around the campfire and so this was born. 😬
> 
> 4) Gladio's story was inspired by a North American folklore called 'Tailypo' I came across a few years ago and has been stuck in my mind since - so if it's familiar, that's probably why!


End file.
